Female athletes deserve some cheers, too

By Catherine Blount, For the Express-News

Published 4:23 pm, Thursday, July 3, 2014

SAN ANTONIO — Like many San Antonians, I watched with excitement and relief as the Spurs won their fifth championship title. I was also one of many who lined up early at the Alamodome to get the chance to cheer for them at the top of my lungs. One of the things I love best about living in this city is how our team brings us together. The team's level of play is a positive reminder of how teamwork helps us be better. I am also a fan of soccer and enjoy watching the World Cup and cheering our national team to its own success.

In the midst of my admiration, however, I am struck by the attention given to these men's teams in comparison to the attention paid to their women peers in each sport. I think both the Spurs and our U.S. men's national soccer team are deserving of every bit of the celebration and adoration they are receiving, but I wonder why we don't celebrate our women the same.

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Concern about women's issues is not new. The inequality and injustice women face, while definitely displayed on the playing field, also extends far beyond it and into the daily routine for women here and around the world in serious and devastating ways. Both physical and sexual violence against women are commonplace. Women are also routinely denied rights to their own bodies both here and abroad, whether through contraceptive care, being trafficked for sex or by being forced into marriage.

Education for girls is denied in parts of Africa and the Middle East, and we have seen recent examples of girls being shot for seeking knowledge or kidnapped from their school as if they were pieces of property. Around the world, women work more hours but make less money and are impoverished at higher rates than men. In business, government and religion, women are denied equal access to leadership around the globe.

Why is this so? Why do we not celebrate our women as jubilantly as we do men? Some might point to inherent differences between the sexes as cause. In sports alone, women's play is often called slow and boring, but haven't we recently learned that a more refined game based on working together is something worth celebrating?

I have enjoyed watching our Spurs and U.S. men's national soccer team and don't wish to diminish their successes, but seeing such celebration of men in the sporting arena is only a reminder of much bigger, more important things to consider.

Catherine Blount is a student in the master of social work program at UTSA and is enrolled in the global context of social work class.